A New Life
by my-beautiful-idiot
Summary: Laurie Mambat never chose to have her life cut short by cancer, but she'd accepted her fate nonetheless. However, when a man called Junior offers her a spot in the Megagirl intiative, she takes it, desperate to prolong her otherwise-ending life. Laurie trades her sickness for strength, her limitations for power, and her humanity for a new life. A new life as Ultrabeam Megagirl.
1. The Choice

White walls, white floors, and white doctors in white coats—the whiteness engulfed Laurie until she thought she couldn't take it. But she was used to it by then. She'd spent her fair share of time walking and being wheeled around in the big, white hospitals. Only mostly, she found herself there wearing the patient's smock they gave her, not her own clothes.

She was sitting in a waiting area, a picture frame on the wall next to her. She studied the painting—a winter's scene of a dog and a boy by a tree—until she found it boring, so she studied her reflection in the frame instead. Her hair had once been full and straight and long, a waterfall of dark brown over her tan skin, but cancer had soon taken care of that. She had it short and boyish now, but managed to make it more feminine with the added flower headband. Anything to defy what the illness had done to her.

She'd just been in a meeting, with her parents, a man who casually called himself "Junior," and four other girls, and their parents, all in the same position as she was. It was called the Megagirl Initiative, Junior said. A way for humans to reclaim the control they once had on robots. The secret to controlling robots, he said, was in the inhibitor chip. Scientists had discovered a way of instilling something close to emotion into robots, to keep them from being able to harm humans. It wouldn't make them want to not harm humans, but it would take away their ability to. Laurie didn't understand the details, but she liked the idea.

However, Junior had told them, the inhibitor chips weren't perfect. They couldn't control robots with different robots, and that's all the inhibitor chips were. But, they had proposed an idea. To download a human brain into a microchip, and to program a robot using the actual human experience as a base—it might actually be enough to prevent robots from rebelling.

And so she had been called. Laurie, along with the other girls, had been selected to be offered a spot in the Megagirl Initiative, due to their "ideal circumstances." In other words, it was because they were dying. Laurie knew that, even though nobody would say it. She was going to die anyways, that was given, or she could sell her soul to science. As she sat in the waiting area with the four others, none of them talking, while their parents still discussed things in the meeting room, Laurie turned over the choice in her head. That's what Junior had said—That it was entirely a choice. They didn't have to take part in the initiative if they didn't want to. And that was precisely the reason she wanted to do it.

She hadn't chosen to have cancer. She hadn't chosen to be her parents' only child, their only chance at being parents. She hadn't chosen to die before she was twenty—that had all chosen her. Now, here was a chance at a second life, or something close to it. The presentation had said that it would be almost like being alive, but with some major distortions. Junior described it as living inside a dream, in a way. She would feel consciousness, but her range of emotions and reactions would be stunted. Her free will would be cut off, as well, as robots were actually just machines.

And then there was the humanity side of the argument, that her parents hated the most. She'd be becoming a robot, after all. And she'd still be practically dead. Not a human anymore. Her mind would technically live on, but only as a robot. The Laurie she'd been would be gone forever. And Laurie was fine with that. She didn't have long to live, anyways, the doctors said. It was down to a matter of months, a couple of years at the most. And, at least in the Megagirl Initiative, she could go on experiencing life, in one way or another. Her parents wanted her to pass naturally, not being downloaded into a new body. But, ultimately, it was Laurie's decision.

That's why, when her parents exited the meeting room with the others, she walked right on past them, and went to Junior, saying, "I'd be honored to take part in the Megagirl Initiative, sir."

And, in reply, Junior smiled congenially, shook her hand, and said, "That is excellent news, Laurie Mambat."


	2. Disintegration

It was three months later, and in those three months, so much had changed. Only one other girl out of the five had chosen to join in the initiative as well, and so Laurie, along with the other girl, Christine, had spent a lot of time together in the training programs.

They had to spend two hours a day performing tasks in "robosuits," as Junior called them, machines that made one who was wearing them act like a robot, so that their consciousnesses wouldn't be too shocked after the transition. Next, they had to take classes in, well, everything. Computer sciences and alien languages and mechanics, just in case their consciousnesses couldn't download extra information once inside the inhibitor chip's mainframe. And, in time, Laurie and Christine became best friends. Their friendship was sort of strange to both of them, like it was forced, but no less genuine. Their other friends had long since abandoned them, not wanting to be too close to anyone who might die at any second. So all they had was each other.

She was waiting in the training room, which was a large sort of laboratory/gym, specially designed to train Laurie and Christine for becoming Megagirl androids. Usually, lessons started at ten o clock sharp, but, after being ushered inside and sat at her table, ten o' clock came and went, and nobody else entered the room. It was nearing eleven when, finally Junior came in through the side door.

"What took you?" Laurie asked, before seeing something that surprised her: Junior was alone. "Where is Christine?"

Junior walked over to sit across from Laurie before answering. "It's sort of complicated… Or, rather, not complicated at all. The doctors gave her up to twelve months… But she…" He took a breath, and continued. "Christine will not be taking part in this initiative, Laurie."

She shook her head. "I don't understand."

He explained, "On Saturday, she checked into the hospital with severe abdominal pain. Turns out there were some things about her disease that the doctor didn't know about."

"You don't mean…" Laurie said, voice faltering.

"Christine's no longer with us," he said, apologetically. Junior knew how close the girls had gotten.

Laurie let the news fall over her, like a waterfall or a wave. It seemed to block out everything else, and, for a moment, Laurie pretended she was alone in a white room made of white walls and white light. And she was alone to deal with the fact that her only friend, her partner, her companion on this terrifying journey, was gone. Gone forever, taken before her time. But she didn't let anything show on her face, no sadness, no disappointment, nothing. In her years of doctors visits and bad news, Laurie had learned to express emotion only on the inside, not letting people see how hurt she was.

Junior's voice brought her back to reality, "If you wish to continue in the program, we'll have to work faster than thought."

She blinked back the tears that had formed on her eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "If?"

"Well, we can understand it if you'd want to back out… The choice is still yours."

Laurie was shocked at this. Didn't anybody understand? Christine's diagnosis was similar to Laurie's. They were both given a short amount of time to live, according to the doctors. And Christine's time was drastically shorter than expected. Who knew how long Laurie'd have left? She knew she needed the Megagirl Initiative. Why should she want to die still, just because Christine hadn't made it to the download?

Laurie got up from the table, and walked over to the stand that had her day's lesson on display: a selection of guns, zappers, and blasters. She picked one up, and said, "Just teach me how to shoot it."

So they dove into her lesson, and it came almost naturally to her. The guns took a couple tries for her to grasp, but, soon, she was shooting bullets into targets with scary accuracy. They moved on to the blasters, which, instead of shooting bullets, shot blasts of fireballs. She took off with them, incinerating any target they threw at her. While practicing, Laurie's mind retreated to her special, secret place. And she pretended that the targets were her life's problems, and she was shooting them and they were going up into flames.

Any trouble in school. Blast. Gone. Bullies picking on her. Boom. Disappeared. Cancer. Blast. No more. Christine's death. Boom. Destroyed.

After a couple of hours of that, she moved on to the zappers, which shot photon blasts. While she was practicing, Junior took out his phone, and went in the hallway to make a call.

"Son," his father said from the other end of the line, "You have to work quickly. We can't lose another one!"

"I know, dad, alright?" he replied. "I know we already lost all the girls at the other base, but Laurie will be ready. Her download will go according to plan."

"Don't take this lightly. A Megagirl Unit is needed for our plans to take action. Miss Mambat cannot be lost like the other."

Junior rubbed at his eyes, and said, "Alright… how about this: We'll download her as soon as possible. Skip the last couple of practice sessions. They were just for precaution anyways."

"When is the soonest possible?" Dr. Spaceclaw asked.

Peering in through the window, Junior saw Laurie taking out targets with deadly precision, and said, "Tomorrow afternoon."


	3. Download

"Well, Laurie," said Junior with a flourish of his hand, "This is the Download Chamber."

They were standing inside yet another white room, walls lined with machinery, and, in the middle, a cross between a hospital bed and an operating table, with an unholy amount of apparatus around it, just waiting for Laurie to fall prey to its promise of a new life. Laurie'd had a headache all day, though, and, refusing to tell anyone, she was just waiting to get home so she could take some pain killer and a nap. She was looking forward to going home, when Junior had offered to give her a tour of the Download Chamber. She readily excepted, and the euphoria of seeing where her fate would lead her made her forget about the pain in her head.

"This is where it's all going to happen next week?" Laurie asked, running her fingers gingerly on the keypad of a computer.

Junior nodded. "One week left of human life, Laurie. How do you feel?"

She sighed, and, after a moment replied, "Relived. I don't have to worry about when I'll die, because… I'm not really dying. I'm getting a new life."

Junior moved to stand closer to her, an eyebrow raised in amusement. "You're funny like that. So optimistic. You're dying, Laurie, you know that. There's no way around that. And yet you still refuse to see things that way. It's… It's almost inspiring."

His tone was so gentle it caught Laurie off guard. Junior was standing across from her, now, very close. In a matter of moments, the tension managed to shoot through the roof, as Laurie didn't quite know what to do. She felt like she was looking at a different Junior, and, thinking about it, she decided he wasn't bad looking at all. She was shocked to feel her heart pick up a faster beat.

At last, she found her words. "I think I've lived long enough."

"You've hardly lived at all," he gave a halfhearted laugh and a sad smile, and it made him look almost handsome.

"You would say that;" Laurie said, mirroring his soft smile, "you've lived a lot longer than me."

"Laurie," his face was only inches from hers, "I'm only nineteen."

And in the next second, Laurie let the unspeakable happen. Maybe it was because she was about to die. Maybe because she figured she needed to live a little more. Or, maybe it was because she allowed herself to feel something new, something she never let herself feel, because she always assumed that Junior was much too old for her. But thinking back, his age was never mentioned, and people always assumed that he was well into his twenties. But, in the light of the revelation that the age difference wasn't exactly taboo anymore, Laurie closed the last gap between herself and Junior, and pressed her lips to his. Junior kissed her back deeply, and, for a few heartbeats, they allowed themselves to feel the most impossible emotion. An emotion that they knew would only lead to heartbreak, but that they both believed in wholeheartedly.

Junior was the one to break it off, and abruptly let Laurie go. He stepped back, his expression fading into confusion and disgust.

"How'd I let this happen…" He said, almost to himself. Then, to Laurie, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even… No, I can't, this was stupid. I was stupid… Letting my emotions get the best of me…" He turned around, and quickly made his way to a communication system, leaving Laurie stunned and disappointed, and not sure what was happening. Junior pressed the call button, and said into a microphone, "I've got her in here. Prepare for download."

He turned back to Laurie, who said, "What's going on?"

Junior's eyes were ablaze, he was upset, but not with Laurie. With himself. His gentle tone from before was gone, his voice was gruff and harsh. "I'm sorry, Laurie. I wasn't supposed to do that. Kissing you, I mean. I wasn't supposed to do that… It was wrong. It was stupid. I was only supposed to get you in this room, and I did that. Mission accomplished. The end."

Laurie shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "I don't understand. You said 'prepare for download.' I download next week…"

Junior threw his hands up, and huffed exasperatedly, "It was a ploy, Laurie. We'd been planning to download you today. I tricked you, alright? I tricked you into coming here, today, and you fell for it."

Laurie's tears dried in her eyes. She wasn't sad anymore, she was angry. Horrible, venomously angry. That Junior had tricked her, had played with her emotions. She shot to the only door in the room, and found it locked. "What have you done?" she cried.

Junior's rage flickered for a moment, back to the gentleness from before, and he replied, contemplatively, regretfully, "What I was told."

The next moment, the door burst open, and three scientists filed in, locking the door behind them, and grabbing Laurie as she tried to escape. She kicked and wriggled, but she was weak from the illness. Still, the doctors were having a struggle, and Junior watched, numb to it all.

"Sedate her," he ordered flatly.

"Please!" cried Laurie, as one of the scientists ran to get a syringe of tranquilizer, "I haven't said goodbye to anyone… My parents, they'll worry. Please, you can't! Please, not yet!" She hadn't been afraid of the download, because she'd always known when it was coming. The sudden attack had loosened all the strength she'd built, and she began to scream and thrash and cry.

Then, the scientists thrust the needle into her neck, and she dropped, as the chemicals began to take hold. They slung her onto the table, and began to strap her into the equipment.

"Please, no…" she kept muttering feebly. "Not yet… I haven't said goodbye yet… I need to say goodbye…"

Junior stood over her head, and his face was the last thing Laurie Mambat saw. He said to her, "We'll tell them there was an accident in the lab. They'll mourn you either way."

"They'll hate you for it," she whispered, feeling her eyelids become too heady to use anymore.

"I know, Laurie. But there are worse things to be than hated." His voice faded in her ears, and Laurie closed her eyes, as the sedative pulled her into sleep. Junior looked to the security camera in the corner, where he knew his father would be watching. He took his post at a computer desk, and said, Alright, team! Commence download."


	4. A New Life

Junior was alone in the download chamber. It was hours later, and the procedure had gone according to plan. All the electrostatic pulses and bio-automated sense inside Laurie's head had been successfully converted into binary code and submitted into the computer's system. However, a lot of power was needed to complete the download, and the team had withdrawn into the Secondary Chamber, where the remnants of Laurie's mind would be sorted and stored in the inhibitor chip, as well as the Megagirl Mainframe. In order to oversee the procedure, the download team had gone into the next room to aid in the next stage, but Junior stayed behind.

He looked down at Laurie's face, cold and unmoving, eyelids closed, so that, if he looked at her the right way, she might be sleeping. He brushed a stray bit of hair from her eyes, and sighed, staring down at the girl he'd tricked into an early death. But he hadn't stayed behind for sentiment, not entirely. Only moments later, he heard the doors opening, and footsteps entering the room. Junior could feel his father's presence behind him.

"The download is going according to plan," Dr. Spaceclaw said.

Junior nodded, and added, "Phase Two will be completed within the hour, Phase Three within the next four."

"You've done well, Junior."

"Thanks, Dad," he replied quietly.

They were silent for a couple moments, and Dr. Spaceclaw was about to withdraw, when he mentioned to his son, "But I saw that little stunt you pulled. Just before the download."

_The kiss, _Junior thought. "What about it?"

"It was foolish. It might have jeopardized the entire project. Don't ever let it happen again." With that, he left the room, and Junior was alone with Laurie once more.

"Don't worry, Dad," he said, following him. He got to the door, and then looked back to Laurie where she lay. "I won't ever kiss Laurie again. Laurie is dead now."

* * *

Laurie found herself inside another white room, only this time, it wasn't a room; it was a tank. A big tank of white water and white light that filled Laurie up until she couldn't hold any more lightness. Suddenly, though, the white light grew dense. All at once, the light that brought her life turned into a black blanket to suffocate her. She kicked and screamed, and whirled around in the dense darkness, gasping for breath, but all she could breathe was more of the blackness. She inhaled it all, until she wasn't surrounded by the blackness, she _was_ the blackness.

And the blackness grew inside the infinite space, filling it to every edge, blocking out any last remaining crack to the light. It oozed and writhed, until there was no memory of anything other than the blackness. The darkness was the past and the future, and all in between. It wasn't significant anymore, the dark. Because all that ever has been has been the darkness.

And then it just dropped. Like someone pulled a plug, the darkness began to fade. But not fading back to the white, for the whiteness had become the blackness; the light had become the dark. And the dark was fading into nothingness. A blank space of nothing, where nothing had ever been, and nothing would ever be.

And then, she saw letters.

Letters, floating inside some space that could have been inside a mind, except that it wasn't, it was more like a field of consciousness, if she could comprehend such a thing. Almost like a thought, letters drifted across something like a mind. She thought to make something of the letters. She found words inside them, and decided to use them.

_L... A U... R I E... M A M... B... A T..._

_LAURIE MAMBAT._

But the name meant nothing to her, so she rearranged them into something that could make sense.

_I AM ULTRABEAM._

It seemed to work, so she decided to remember that.

But then the letters disappeared, and were replaced with new letters. But these letters came with a meaning.

_MEGAGIRL._

The instant those letters crossed her, she decided they worked as something like a name, an identity.

More letters came, and the thing that decided to be identified as "Megagirl" found herself learning code after code, but it was as if she was being told instructions for a second time, she need only remember them anew. Like there was a puzzle that she'd already solved, but, when trying to solve it again, she accidentally created an entirely new picture from the original. Same parts, different meaning. Same mind, a new life.

After a few eternities, Megagirl opened her eyes, and, without pausing to take in the room around her through robotic eyes, said in her new, robotic voice, "_Please state a command for me to service you_."

* * *

"Alright, team," said Junior, who had joined the group in the Phase Three download zone only moments before, "Download complete."


	5. Post-Download

Blasts and booms rang out over the gymnasium, as Junior stood next to his father and a group of board members on the upper level viewing platform, watching twenty-five Megagirl units practice their weapons. Dr. Spaceclaw was dressed in his sharpest grey suit, and had required Junior wear the same, as this would their first diplomatic visit. It had been eight months since the first successful download of the girl who had once been Laurie Mambat. Since then, the Megagirl Initiative had persuaded forty-nine other girls to join in the project. This was the first time that their main sponsor, OmniCorps, would send in agents to oversee how the project was going.

"So then," said a company executive to Dr. Spaceclaw's right. "How many girls are there?"

"Fifty," Dr. Spaceclaw responded proudly.

"Why no boys?" another asked.

But one of their own, an older, more experienced businessman, answered him. "Let's not relive the Astroboy disasters, please."

"Now," the leader said, addressing Spaceclaw, "Tell me how they function. Describe the… Inhibitor chip, you call it?"

"I can answer that," said Dr. Fendleton, head scientist on the Megagirl Board. "The human conciseness provides an imprint on the Megagirl mainframe. The consciousness is, of course, preprogrammed with the infantile values of right and wrong. This imprint, straight from a living mind, is welded to the robotic core. It completely cancels out the ability to perform malicious acts on a human being."

"Animals are fair game, though," Junior said, obediently playing the 'likable good guy' role for the directors. "So nobody wear fur." They laughed at the jibe, clearly thinking Junior as no threat at all, but also no great asset.

The leader had some pressing questions, though. "I got reports of an irregularity."

"Yes, yes," said Spaceclaw, "Our first download actually. The irregularity is corrected in all other droids, though."

"What irregularity?" the younger officer asked.

"She seems to have fashioned a name for herself," explained Dr. Fendleton. "All other Megagirls are identified as 'Megagirl' and their ID code. But Megagirl A-1 only seems to respond to 'Ultrabeam.'"

"It's no issue to the android's functioning, of course," Junior added.

"One more thing," the elder executive said. "These girls used in the initiative. They're not still alive in any way, are they?"

Junior looked away so that they couldn't see his face, as his father responded with a laugh. "Oh no," Dr. Spaceclaw said, "They're dead. Perfectly and utterly dead."

* * *

"Dad," Junior had asked once the executives had gone, "About the 'Ultrabeam' Megagirl.."

"What about it?" he'd replied.

"Well, that is, do you think I could run some, um, tests on h—it?"

"Sure. Whatever you want. You know the codes."

And that had settled it. That very evening, Junior made his way into the Central Control Center of the Megagirl Base. It was late, and there was only one scientist there. Junior said he'd wrap it up, and the scientist wished him a good night, and went on his way. Alone in the room, Junior looked around himself. It was an octagonal room, with the usual computer screens set up along the walls, various apparatus strewn about in organized chaos. And in the center, a glowing blue cylinder stood, illuminating it all. The tube was a direct line to the Megagirl Storage, where every droid was kept unless needed.

"Computer," Junior ordered. "Bring me Megagirl A-1."

The tube began to tremble and glow, and spin in a circle. It slowly lowered itself into the floor, paused for a moment, and then began another dramatic ascent. When it was in position, it displayed, kept inside, a Megagirl unit, identical in every way to the rest. Every way, except for inside her mind.

He took a breath, and turned a dial on the control panel directly in front of the cylinder. The lights switched from blue to white, so he could see her more clearly through the glass. The face was beginning to haunt him, having seen it thousands of times a day, on fifty identical robotic bodies. It looked nothing like Laurie once had. He could still remember her face.

Junior had gone to the funeral, a decision he didn't regret, despite being a complete outcast. Most people there didn't know he was part of the company that had killed Laurie, and the official story was that she'd had a seizure during practice, and passed due to complications, but that didn't stop him from getting dirty looks from those who recognized him. That day was the last time he saw her face, cold, lifeless. But, somehow, much more alive than the face staring at him from on the Megagirl unit.

He ordered her, "Activate."

She opened her eyes, and said, "Please state a command for me to service you."

"State your identification."

"Identified Ultrabeam Megagirl," she replied, her monotone voice echoing through the empty room.

"Who _were_ you, though," he said, searching her face for any kind of recognition.

"Identified Ultrabeam Megagirl," she said in the exact same tone as before.

Junior sighed. He didn't know what he'd expected. He just figured, maybe if he was alone with Megagirl, he could remind her, she would remember who she was, and what they had… But then he remembered: Laurie had spent her final moments hating him. She sat there, dying before his eyes while he did nothing but instruct those who were killing her. Perhaps it was good Laurie's mind was lost with her body. But he couldn't stop trying.

"Who were you before you were Ultrabeam Megagirl?" he asked, tension in his voice rising.

She responded immediately. "I have always been Ultrabeam Megagirl."

"Who were you when you were human?"

"I am not a human."

"But you were human once."

"I have never been a human."

Junior was running out of questions to ask, and found himself resorting to simply shouting at her. "Yes you were! You were human once, Megagirl, and you know it!"

"I have never been human."

"Yes you were, Laurie!" He screamed, banging his fists against the clear glass cylinder. Everything was quiet a moment as he backed away from the Megagirl unit. He listened to his own violently beating heart, the only heart in the room, and waited a moment before she responded.

"I…" she said, fixing her robotic gaze on him. "Have never been human."

Junior closed his eyes and took a breath, trying to settle himself. But it didn't work. He found the words tumbling from his mouth. "You used to be human, Laurie, and you know it! You were a human being. You were Lauren Marie Mambat and dead God damnit – you loved me!" He raced back to the cylinder, and put his hands against the cool glass again. "I know you're in there, Laurie. I know you're in there… Talk to me. Say something. Laurie please!" It was too much. He could hear his voice cracking, could feel the heaviness in his throat. But he'd promised himself he wouldn't cry. "Damn it all!" He pounded the cylinder once more before walking away. He was almost to the door, when he heard her speak once more.

"I am not a human," she said, her monotone voice showing no acknowledgement of Junior's explosion.

Junior initiated the tube to sink back into the floor. As he was exiting the room, he looked back to see the blue cylinder nearly back into the ground. "Damn you," he said. But he wasn't entirely sure of to whom he was speaking.


	6. The Dead God

Laurie blinked open her eyes, and squinted into white light. For a moment she thought she was back in the hospital. But then she remembered that she died. She thought it very strange that one would remember one's own death, but decided not to dwell on that just then. Looking around, she found that she was in an endless field of white, with no break between the floor and the walls. It was just bare emptiness. Looking down at herself, she realized she was naked. Thinking that she'd rather be clothed, Laurie found herself in a simple white dress.

"Where am I?" she asked, amazed. She knew she was dead, but this didn't feel like heaven. In this space, _she_ seemed to be the god.

"Ah," a mechanical voice said, breaking her thoughts, "You're activated."

The voice seemed to be coming from all around her. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

A woman appeared in front of her, which Laurie remembered was the design of the Megagirl Unit. Her white hair matched the white of the room they were in. "I am Ultrabeam Megagirl," she said. "And you are my inhibitor." Something in her voice was hostile. Laurie watched in horror as Megagirl raised her hand, the end of a zapper coming from her fingers. She was prepping to shoot.

"Megagirl, STOP," Laurie ordered in fear.

The instant the direction was out of Laurie's mouth, Megagirl's blaster began to shut down. She looked at her hand inquisitively. "So," Megagirl said to the confused Laurie, "I cannot kill you even now."

Laurie was horribly perplexed. She was going to ask Megagirl what she meant, when another voice boomed around inside the infinite white space.

"Activate." Both girls looked around that room. Laurie was puzzled further, because she knew that voice. It was Junior. A split second later, the image of Megagirl in front of her disappeared, to be replaced by something like a view screen, just floating in the air. Laurie stepped forward, and looked at the image on the screen, displaying the view from Megagirl's eyes. It was that of a techonological lab, and it appeared as though Megagirl was inside a processing tube, a protective glass cylinder. And, in the room, she saw Junior.

"Please state a command for me to service you," Laurie heard Megagirl's voice say.

_This must be it_, Laurie thought. _The Megagirl Initiative. That's where I am now. I'm inside the computer. I'm inside the robot's mind._

"State your identification," Junior ordered. Laurie tried not to think about how sexy his voice was when he was giving orders.

"Identified Ultrabeam Megagirl," the Megagirl unit replied.

"Who _were_ you, though?" Junior asked.

Laurie bit her lip, unsure what she wanted to do. She felt that, if she wanted to, she could have Megagirl tell Junior that she was Laurie, that Laurie was still awake and alive, in one way or another. But Laurie remembered that this man is the one who tricked her into the download. And since it was such a forced download, her subconscious was still recuperating all these months later. No, she thought. She couldn't tell him she was there. He had to believe she was gone, and all that was left was the robot.

Megagirl's voice took over, restating, "Identified Ultrabeam Megagirl."

Junior sounded frustrated. "Who were you before you were Ultrabeam Megagirl?" he demanded.

Laurie didn't even have time to think about a reply, when Megagirl said, "I have always been Ultrabeam Megagirl."

_Hey_, Laurie said to Megagirl, _Let me have some say in this._

Megagirl replied to Laurie, _I can't lie to him. I am Ultrabeam. YOU are Laurie._

_Then let Laurie speak_, she ordered.

"Who were you when you were human?" Junior asked.

Laurie hung back though, still letting the robot speak for herself. "I am not a human," Megagirl said.

"But you were human once." Junior was getting upset, that was plain to see. But Laurie couldn't bring herself to talk to him. It had to be this way, she told herself. It had to be only Megagirl.

"I have never been human," Megagirl replied indignantly.

"Yes you were!" Junior shouted. "You were human once, Megagirl, and you know it!"

"I have never been human." Laurie found herself whispering the words the same time Megagirl was saying them.

Junior was furiously upset now. He banged a fist on the glass, causing the image to shake for a moment. "Yes you were!" he shouted. In the fit of his anger, Laurie decided to take control. She felt herself take over Megagirl's speech power.

"I…" Laurie began, using Megagirl's voice. But she didn't know where to go with that. What could Laurie say to him now? Nothing she could say would change anything. Laurie fixed Megagirl's eyes on Junior's hoping to get some message across, as she restated the thought from before, "…have never been human."

She didn't know what was going on at first. It seemed Junior was going to walk away. But he flung the anger out on his words, "You used to be human, Laurie, and you know it!" Laurie gasped. That was the first time Junior addressed her directly, not as Megagirl. It was like he knew she was in there. "You were a human being. You were Lauren Marie Mambat and dead God damnit – you loved me!" He raced back to the cylinder, and put his hands against the glass again. "I know you're in there, Laurie. I know you're in there… Talk to me. Say something. Laurie please!"

There was nothing Laurie wanted more in that moment than to say, "Yes, it's me, Laurie. I love you, but I'm dead." But she couldn't say it. She couldn't say anything.

And Junior had given up. "Damn it all!" he said, pounding his fist on the glass once more before walking away in defeat.

But Laurie couldn't leave it at that. Now that she had the ability to speak through Megagirl, she wanted to say something. Anything. But there was nothing to say. Finally, she uttered, "I am not a human."

And that was it. The Megagirl's external unit was going back into sleep mode. The viewscreen disappeared, and Megagirl rematerialized in front of her.

"That was fun," Megagirl said, a wicked smile showing on her face.

"That was horrible," Laurie replied.

"What's the difference?" Megagirl commented with a wider smile.

Laurie was suddenly very tired. She wished she had somewhere to lie down. And, just as that thought crossed her mind, a grey, comfortable couch appeared behind her. She plopped down onto it, wanting nothing more than to be alive again. She would gladly have her own voice back, her own will, rather than being the God of her own personal prison.

Megagirl walked forward, and said, "Looks like you and I will be fast friends."

But Laurie shook her head. She raised a hand and pressed it to her chest. Just as she suspected, she felt no pulse there. She was a living corpse. She looked off to the side, into the expanse of white, and said, "Go away, Megagirl."

The robot figure nodded, and disappeared a moment later. Laurie spread out on the couch, and stared a while at her bare feet. It occurred to her that all the needed was to think what kind of shoes she'd like, and she'd have them, but she decided she didn't want to play God anymore. She didn't want to be a computer program anymore either. She just wanted to lie there. She just wanted to be Laurie.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, that WAS the same conversation as the last chapter, just from Laurie's point of view. Just in case anyone was confused. Thanks for waiting so long for the update, I'd been busy with other projects (Nanowrimo, anyone?) Thanks for the support, and don't forget to review! :)**


	7. Lockdown

Junior woke up with a start, to the sound of his father yelling. Their house wasn't the smallest, but it echoed well enough to carry his father's anger from his study to Junior's room. Junior flipped on his bedside lamp, and wondered for the umpteenth time why he didn't just move out. He was twenty now, well old enough to get his own place. He decided then to start looking at some place near the GLEE Laboratories to live.

He still heard the angry shouting of his father's voice, followed by a loud noise, like the banging of a fist on a table. Worrying for his mother's safety, Junior put on his robe and moved to the door. But his hand was on the doorknob when he realized something: His father was using his business voice. There was the voice that he had when he was angry at Junior or Junior's mother. And then there was the voice he used when he was angry at a co-worker or someone at work.

_He must be on a business call._ Junior looked at the clock. _At two am._

He turned the doorknob, and began his slow trek down the hallway. He got to the staircase, and, from the top, he could hear Dr. Spaceclaw's voice more clearly. He was finishing up the conversation it seemed. Junior slowly descended the steps, and stood at the entrance to his dad's study. His father was standing by his desk, back turned from the door.

"Um, Dad…" he began.

His father replied by banging the phone down in frustration. "AAARGH!" he growled.

"What's wrong?" Junior asked.

"What's wrong!?" he shouted back. He whirled around to face his son. "We're being shut down, _that's_ what's wrong!"

"Shut down?"

"The dead-God damn Galactic League cut funding for the Megagirl Initiative – Our laboratories are being shut down – ARGH!" He knocked the lamp off his desk and it shattered to pieces on the floor.

But Junior was as shocked as Spaceclaw was angry. "Wait. Shut down? You don't mean… For good?"

"Until they decide to re-instate the program, which could take months, years even…" He began to pace around his room, grumbling to himself, knocking more things over. Papers and books and pens fell to the ground. "If I were the head of the League, this wouldn't have happened. I'd have authority, and people would respect it…" He looked up at Junior. "You're still here?"

"Just leaving," Junior said quietly, as he withdrew from his father's study. He trudged back up the stairs and into his room, heart sinking with every step.

_They can't shut us down, _he thought._ They just can't._

He'd only just begun working with the Ultrabeam Megagirl. He hadn't given up on finding Laurie beneath the robot's shell. But if they were going to cut funding, then he might as well kiss every hope goodbye. The droids would be kept in the storage facilities for an indefinite amount of time, and he would never get to see her again.

He made it into his room and shut the door. He stood there a moment, and leaned back against it. He sank to the floor, and rested his head in his hands. He took a deep breath, but for some reason, he found he could not cry. He slowly stood, and walked to his dresser, and opened the bottom drawer. He fished around in the back of it, and withdrew a small envelope. Sitting against his bed, he opened the envelope, and pulled out its contents: a picture.

It was of three smiling faces, sitting around a table, drinking milkshakes, laughing like old friends. A few weeks into the training, Junior offered to take Laurie and Christine out to celebrate the first half of their training done. He was seated next to Laurie, with Christine on the other side of the table. He'd offered to take them out because of how hard they were working, but really, it was just to get to see Laurie more. He folded the picture in half, along the crease that had been made from folding it so many times before, so that Christine was off the page, and it just showed him and Laurie.

It was the only picture he had of Laurie. He thought he'd lost the picture, but found it the day he spoke to the Megagirl unit. It was the last thing left of Laurie. And now his only hope of finding her was gone, for who knows how long. And seeing her face, smiling, laughing, living… that was enough to make the tears come.

* * *

"Inhibitor?" the robotic voice echoed in the Laurie's white forest. "Inhibitor, where are you currently located?"

"Over here!" Laurie called.

She was surrounded by trees, or, something close to trees. She'd been testing out the extent of her power, and had managed to create a small forest of snowy white trees. She grew them higher and higher, and tried climbing them, but their limbs were too small and slippery. She couldn't figure out how to change their texture or color, but she did make the shapes reminiscent of that of evergreen pines, although she called them ever_whites_. Flitting through the trees were Laurie's version of butterflies. They weren't really living, though, they were more like robots themselves, with pre-programmed flight paths and behaviors. But Laurie liked them. It was better than being all alone, anyhow.

Ultrabeam wasn't there all the time. She often checked into the Megagirl Mainframe, where all robot droids were connected. She returned to Laurie whenever there was news in the system, or when she was bored. (It was strange to Laurie, that a robot should get bored.) Laurie didn't really like Ultrabeam, but, as with her butterflies, it was better than being alone. They were something like friends, although Laurie had recognizable power over Megagirl.

She came around a tree, to Laurie, who was busy making more butterflies. She would spread her fingers out in the air, and the wings would bloom through the space. She couldn't sustain it, though, and couldn't make them very big.

"Do you like them?" Laurie asked, when Megagirl approached.

"They are… Quaint," she replied, extending her arm for one to land in it. She would have crushed it in her grasp, but Laurie had already forbidden it. "But I have news for you, Inhibitor."

"News?" Laurie looked up, and the butterfly fluttered off. "What news? Wait, let's go back to the couch."

They walked past a couple more rows of trees, and came out back to the couch, her first set up. That was where she spent most of her time, so she'd managed to outfit it with a light grey rug, a small coffee table, and refrigerator. It only took her a couple of hours into her imprisonment to find that, even though she had no real physical form, she could still get hungry. She was only able to conjure up bland morsels of food, but she was practicing and learning. She sat on the couch, and offered Megagirl a slice of bread. It was only a joke, of course. Robots didn't eat anyways.

"What is it, then, Ultrabeam?" Laurie asked.

"I'm afraid I have bad news," she replied.

"Bad news for you or bad news for me?"

"Bad news," she said pointedly, "For us both."

Megagirl had heard it in the mainframe, the terrible news of an all-droid temporary shut-down. All Megagirl units would be shut off and put into storage. When Laurie asked what that would mean for them, she replied honestly, that she didn't know. It could be that things just went on like this, Laurie and Megagirl sitting idly by in their little expanse of nothing to play in. Or, they could cease to exist altogether, deleted from the system. Or, perhaps they would find themselves in a locked-stasis. Still conscious, still aware, but frozen, not being able to move, or speak, or influence the environment at all.

"When is this happening?" Laurie asked, urgently. "We need to prepare."

"It may have already happened," Megagirl told her gravely.

Laurie was growing more and more distressed. "But wait," she said, "How do we know? How do we know when it happens, or if it's already happened?"

"I do not know, Inhibi –" then her voice broke off and her image flashed and disappeared from thin air.

Laurie sat up, eyes wide with fear. "M- Megagirl!" She ran forward, into the space where Megagirl had just been. It wasn't unusual for Megagirl to dematerialize, but this time was different. "Megagirl, where are you!?" Laurie looked around, but the robot was nowhere to be seen. Just an expanse of white, broken only by the everwhite forest. "MEGAGIRL!"

This was it, she knew. This was the end. Laurie was all alone inside her little expanse of infinity. Her only companion was gone. And the lockdown had begun.


	8. Four Years Later

_Four years later._

* * *

Junior's alarm woke him earlier than usual. He wiped the sleep from his eyes as he rose to get ready for the day. He did manage to get his own place, a small house only a mile or two away from his parents' house, but the sentiment of his independence pleased him well enough. However, he still stayed on working for his father, and, as an employee had to be awake at ungodly hours to do whatever work was required of him.

"Check voicemail," Junior ordered his household computer, which was connected to all his communication devices. And sure enough, there was one outstanding message from his dad. "Play it."

"Morning Junior," his dad's voice said, "Today's a big day. Now, at the conference, I'll expect you to get there early to run over the schedule and make sure everything's running smooth. You don't need to attend the reception, so can run over to the Initiative Center and get things ready to go…"

Junior slowly tuned out his father's voice, and began thinking on the day ahead. This was the day of the Galactic League press conference, welcoming in Alsaforus Spaceclaw as new Head President. Junior didn't see the title needed the extra embellishment "head" added on to it. Couldn't "President" be authority enough? Just like Dr. Spaceclaw to fashion a new title to the position.

He got into his car just as the sun began to rise above the trees, grinning with the promise of a new day and a new future. Because Dr. Spaceclaw had promised him that his first action as Head President would be to reinstate the Megagirl Initiative. It had been years since anyone's touched those droids. But Junior grinned as he drove down the road. Because he knew he was going back.

* * *

It was like coming out from underwater, the cool wind on wet skin, the rush of air into starved lungs. Of course, Ultrabeam Megagirl, having never actually been underwater, would never have made this connection. All she knew is that she was aware again. As if blinking back into existence after an immeasurable hiatus from reality, Megagirl suddenly found herself in a strange place she did not know.

She was in some kind of garden. There was a golden walkway underneath her feet, and rich green trees surrounded her. There were even people walking around, all sorts of people, with tanned skin and brown hair, of all different shapes and sizes. She saw an old man watering bright blue flowers, and got his attention with a quick slap on the shoulder.

"Ohh, what do you want?" he asked, shocked and concerned.

"Where am I?" Megagirl asked. The man blinked at her, as if he couldn't quite understand what she said. "Where is my Inhibitor?" He still couldn't comprehend. Megagirl exhaled in frustration, and said, "Direct me to whoever is in charge here, puny human."

That he understood. "Right, you'll want to go right up this walkway, turn left, and on to the palace." Then he turned back around and got to watering the flowers, which had inexplicably turned red during their exchange.

Megagirl turned and began walking up the beautiful walkway, and emerged into a beautiful street. Golden buildings lined the road, which was glittering with diamonds and rubies and sapphires and emeralds and precious jewels of all kind. The street was crowded with people walking and running, and even one or two riding ornate brown animals, which seemed to be a cross between horses and elephants. Although Megagirl knew she stuck out like a sore thumb with her white-and-grey pattern, the people paid her no notice.

She swiftly made her way up the street like she was instructed, and soon her destination came into view. It was a gigantic building or ivory and opal, and looked more grand than anything Megagirl had seen in that strange city she didn't know the name of. She ascended the multicolored steps and went through the doorway, into a gold-plated reception area. There was a hallway leading from the back, and a woman at a desk up front.

"Take me to your leader," Megagirl said.

The woman looked up, and replied, "If you want to see the Creator, you'll have to wait your turn."

Megagirl, who was in no temper for waiting, activated her blaster instead, and shot the woman in the chest. She fell forward onto the desk, and promptly disappeared, which Megagirl thought was strange. But her thoughts didn't have time to churn, because they were cut off by a loud "OW!" coming from down the hall. Megagirl ran to investigate, and came out into a large, full banquet hall with a raised platform at one end. Upon the platform, in front of a throne, stood a woman dressed in a flowing white dress. She was bent over, clutching her chest.

"Who did that!" she was yelling at the people. Megagirl walked forward into the atrium, and recognized the beautiful woman.

"Inhibitor?" she called.

Laurie looked up from where she stood on the platform. She squinted into the crowd below her, and in an instant picked out Megagirl. Her eyes grew wide, and she all but forgot about the brief pain in her chest.

"Megagirl?" she gasped. "Is that you?" She turned to a man standing close to her below the platform. "Bring her here." He nodded, and went to lead Megagirl up onto the platform. "About your business," she ordered the people below her.

"Hello, Inhibitor," Megagirl said. "Or are you called the Creator now?"

Laurie blushed. "That's what they call me. I didn't tell them to, it just sort of happened."

Megagirl raised an eyebrow. "And they are…?"

"Well, technically," Laurie said, "They're me. Different versions of me. I needed people to populate my city. I tried making new people at first, but they die. You leave them alone and they forget to breathe or eat or they wander around until they disintegrate. No, they had to be versions of me to keep alive. They're actually easier to make than I thought. Just use my own genetic template, throw in a couple changes, and I can make as many men, women, and children as I want. I feel everything they feel, though, so we try hard not to start any fights. Riots are the worst, but that's only happened once or twice. And I broke it up both times. I'm the queen here. The god."

"You created all this?"

She nodded. "I've been all alone here for the last few years. Just me, in the terrible emptiness. It nearly drove me insane. But I had to do something, soI learned. I experimented. I created my own world. Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is.. technically aesthetically pleasing," Megagirl said with a nod.

"But you're back now. I thought you'd be gone forever," Laurie said with a weak smile.

"The lockdown has ended," she said. "I've just resurfaced. It's only a matter of time before we're called out into action again."

"Oh," Laurie said. "Oh…"

"That means you have to come back," Megagirl said. "You cannot keep this world as well as fulfill your duties as my Inhibitor."

"I can't leave," Laurie said, smile fading entirely. "These are my people. They need me."

Getting more frustrated, Ultrabeam said, "They are figments of your imagination. They're not real. None of this is."

Laurie looked down at her feet, then around the room, then back up at Megagirl. Because she knew it was true. Laurie had spent so much time in her dream world that she forgot it was all in her head anyways.

With a sigh, Laurie said, "Alright. Let's go."

She stepped down from the platform, and led Megagirl out of the room, out of the palace, and into the street. Every person on the street froze as Laurie passed them, as if pausing, awaiting for Laurie to come back. She turned down the path into the beautiful golden garden, and walked along the paths there. They passed the old man, and he waved goodbye before freezing on the spot. They walked further along one path, and the golden walk below them slowly turned brown, then grey, then white. The trees also lost their color the more they went in. Soon they were surrounded by white trees and moths fluttering around everywhere. And when they broke out of those trees, they were faced with a simple setup of a couch, a table, and a fridge.

"Welcome home," Laurie said with a shrug.

* * *

And although she had no way of knowing, that was precisely what Junior said at that very moment, throwing open the doors of the Megagirl Initiative Center downtown. The lights were off, and a thin layer of dust covered everything, but it still held all the promise of before, and more. Junior's heart picked up pace. Because this was the start of a new era. And Junior had a feeling that he was going to make history.


	9. Starship

_As an Ambassador, your primary goals are: to ensure diplomatic relationships with our allies on outlying planets, keep peace within the Starship, and make sure that all missions are run according to Galactic League Standards._

Junior look up from the pamphlet to gaze around his room, eyes falling on the empty suitcase lying open on his bed, with nothing in it except the uniform he was given to wear. He had been specially selected, supposedly, out of thousands of applicants, to become a Starship Ambassador. He knew the truth, though; he was only picked because he was the Head President's son. He didn't mind though. A promotion's a promotion. Besides, there was much more to the job than he originally thought. He continued reading the manual he was given upon accepting the job.

_However, your main goal, as an employee of the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration, is to be a reliable and unwavering support to the advancement of the human race. It requires skill and poise to keep both your outward goal and your real objective in balance. _

"So," he murmured to himself, "I'm more like a spy." He gave a curt laugh.

_But as an Ambassador, you have been selected because you posses the abilities required to do this. The real goal, the betterment of Earth as an empire, is to be aided with your Megagirl Unit. Each Ambassador has been given the usage of a Megagirl Android with which to use as a tool for human progression._

Junior read this and grinned. He had known that, and, as Head President's son, had been able to get into the system to choose which unit he'd be assigned to. Of course he chose Ultrabeam. There was no other way for it to be.

But things were different for him. He was older, wiser, and his heart, though scarred, was no longer broken as it had been. He chose Ultrabeam more for old times' sake, although he would always have a soft spot for the droid. There was, of course, no echo of Laurie that he could see, but it was good for him to be with Ultrabeam. A testament to Laurie's memory.

He read the last few lines of the pamphlet.

_You must remember, though, that in your work, it could be easy to misplace the purpose of the Megagirl Unit. An Ambassador may begin to view it as a companion, but that is not the case. Megagirl is just a tool to use, not a person to interact with. It has no emotions, no personality, nor any human elements other than the basic form. Nonetheless, it will prove vital in the success of your underlying mission._

He nodded, placed the pamphlet in his suitcase, and continued packing, a sly smile growing on his face all the while.

* * *

Reawakened and rejuvenated t was just like old times for Laurie and Ultrabeam. Back in training, the duo slipped easily back into the life of the robot warrior. From behind Megagirl's eyes, Laurie learned of her mission on the Starship, and also of her assigned partner. She saw him during practices, watching on the side with the other soon-to-be Ambassadors.

But he looked older. Rougher. Colder. Time and life had clearly taken their tolls on him, but he was still the same Junior. And she found herself in the same turmoil she dreaded. A smoldering longing for him thudded in her mind. She knew she could never have him, that she shouldn't even want him. But in the four long years she spent in solitude, she had often found her thoughts wandering back to him, and the brief time she spent loving him.

She wouldn't allow herself to reveal her presence to him, though. There was just something keeping that from being a possibility. It was important to Laurie that she played her part well, the part of Megagirl's Inhibitor. The days passed as such, until one day they were not called in to do drills or other practices. Instead, the robots were left powered down, as they were loaded into a transport pod.

"This is it, Ultrabeam," Laurie said to her, sitting on her couch inside her mind. The robot had opted for a chair set up across from Laurie.

"Indeed," the robot replied, with what she would consider an excited tone but Laurie would perceive as expressionless.

"It's weird, though," Laurie mused.

"How so?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. It just feels… weird."

Not wanting to think further on how strange she was feeling about all this, about the product of years of training about to begin, Laurie changed the subject, and Ultrabeam followed. They chatted politely for another short expanse of infinity, until the light around them flashed off and back on, signaling that they were about to be reactivated.

Megagirl blinked open their eyes to find them in a strange room, which seemed to be annexed to larger quarters. The floor was carpeted, the ceiling tiled, the walls metallic and strong. The robot was inside a wall containment unit, a glass cylinder like back in the Megagirl Center on earth. Only this time, they were in a new environment: a staship. (This was made evident from the view out a porthole on the side, displaying the marble of Earth drifting further away.)

Only a moment after gaining consciousness, Megagirl turned her attention to the door at the front of the room, which was opening with a whirr. Junior walked inside, gazing proudly at the Megagirl Unit. He was dressed in his new uniform and holding himself with a lofty stature. He was, after all, one of the most important persons on board. And he even had his own quarters (complete with a personal smoking deck) and a robot slave to adhere to his every command.

It was then that Laurie realized that this was the first time in five years that she had been alone with Junior, (or as alone as one can be when one is trapped inside a robot's datacore.) She was reminded again of how different he was. How different they both were. He strolled around the room, coming slowly over to the robot.

"Now then, Megagirl," he said. "we meet again."

Laurie was shocked by his voice. It wasn't at all the warm one she remembered. This was harsher, brutal almost. It was her Junior, warped by time and experience. She found herself frightened of him.

_Be careful, _she warned Ultrabeam. _He seems different._

_ Different as can be, _she agreed.

"I don't know if you know this," he said, sauntering forward, "But I have a mission here. Yep, I was specially assigned. A lot of shit's about to go down, Megagirl. And, so that we have things straight, let's just get this out in the open. I know that you are not Laurie. So don't expect any sympathy from me. This is how things work: I'm your master, you're my slave, and you do as I say. Now, if you do just that…" he took a deep breath, and exhaled before continuing, "then we just might succeed."

* * *

**OKAY HI I SUCK I KNOW. Sorry for not updating it in a considerable amount of forevers. Time got away from me, oh well. But keep on reading and responding, YAY I LovE YoU okay yay byee**


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